LONDON (Reuters) ? Class of 2005 reinsurer Amlin Bermuda has written $55 million of new business, net of brokerage fees, its parent company said yesterday.

London-listed Amlin Plc chief executive Charles Philipps said the outlook for the $1 billion firm it launched in November as positive and had been well received by London brokers.

And he said the group expected rates to strengthen this year in the wake of the record losses incurred in the 2005 hurricane season.

?We believe there is scope for continued rate strengthening as the year progresses, as markets in some classes, such as direct property insurance, have yet to respond to the increased cost of reinsurance cover, and the main renewal season for key wind affected zones of the world is later in the year. The outlook is positive,? Mr. Philipps said.

Amlin Plc said yesterday that overall profit for 2005 would be ahead of current market expectations and confirmed premiums for this year had risen.

Amlin said its average renewal rate reduction in 2005 was four percent, weighted across premium by business class, but premiums for 2006 had hardened after the insurance industry?s costliest year on record for natural catastrophes in 2005.

Analysts at Numis said the consensus for Amlin?s 2005 earnings per share had been 22.3 pence and it was now likely to lift its estimate to 24p.

Amlin said rates for property reinsurance had been particularly buoyant so far in 2006, and its US catastrophe reinsurance renewals had risen by 15 percent on average.

It said there had been larger increases in wind exposed regions and it expected this to increase as the major wind exposed programmes are renewed.

The insurer said so far for the 2006 renewal period it had written ?183 million of premium income, up about ten percent on the same period in 2005, at a renewal rate averaging about four percent across all classes.

Amlin said gross written premium, net of brokerage, at its Syndicate 2001 was 810 million pounds ($1.43 billion) for the 2005 underwriting year, down from 830 million the year before, using the same exchange rate.